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From the Archives
Over the 140 years since CBC Fremantle has been educating fine young men, many aspects of the College have changed. From the buildings and campus facilities, to the teachers and curriculum, going through the annals of CBC is like a history lesson on Western Australia.
Yet some things never change, and a recent acquisition to our archives is a case in point. Margaret Hartnup kindly donated the 1939 and 1940 annuals that belonged to her late father, Bernard Stanley Edwards, who received his Junior certificate in 1928. The old publications, fragile and yellowed with age, provide a glimpse of the authentic heart of CBC Fremantle that remains robust to this day.
1940 HAD IT RIGHT
The biggest news in 1940 was the completion of the ‘new building’, which was an addition to the classrooms known as the High School on Ellen Street. The magazine’s Editorial boasts of a ‘large new school which is as well appointed as any in the State’, and goes on to say:
If an Old Boy compares the school life of CBC Fremantle today with his memories of the old school, he cannot help but be struck by the innovations, improvements and activities of the present era. However, this does not mean that is spirit has been changed. Let no one say that CBC Fremantle is not essentially the same school as of yore – but the tradition of the past lives on and is brought to greater fruition in the new.
You can view a digital copy of these publications on the College website in the archives section.
AN HONOURED LIFE
Archives also received copies of various achievement certificates that were awarded to William Edgar (1947). His daughter, Christine, sent the documents, which included William’s Leaving and Matriculation certificates that were issued in the same year, an unusual feat and one that is a sign of the scholar’s accelerated learning. William went on to study Engineering at UWA and had a long career with the Main Roads department. He passed away in 1992.
The classrooms on Ellen Street in 1913.
